14 | Skills & Education
Campaigning for timber sector education, training and skills development
FIDDLERS ON THE ROOF
Jim Coulson at TFT Woodexperts provides some essential information in the fight against fake battens
Above left: Fake battens have the potential to cause safety issues Above right: These undersized battens pose a risk to the end-user
There has been quite a bit of coverage in the timber trade press of late on the market being supplied with sub-standard, ungraded tiling battens. These seem at first glance to be graded, but in fact they are not and they have the potential to then cause safety issues. The British Standard for the manufacture, treatment and supply of tiling battens is BS5534: but what does it require and what does it mean for those who are buying such battens?
“Even just putting the BS number on a product
implies that the product meets the minimum requirements of that Standard,” said Woodexperts’ director Jim Coulson. “But the market at present is being inundated with battens – some marked with the Standard number and some not – which are completely unsafe to use on a roof. One common misconception is that if the battens are coloured (blue, yellow, red, etc), then they automatically must be graded: but in many cases, that is not true. Even having “BS 5534” stamped on them is not necessarily a guarantee of quality. “The only way to be sure that you are really getting
a ‘kosher’ BS 5534 batten is to look for the mark of an independent third-party certifier, alongside the BS 5534 stamp mark. Such third-party certification schemes will ensure that manufactured battens meet the Standard, because the producing factory has been fully audited and accredited; using properly- trained graders who know the rules. The best-known independent certification marks – which can be found only on properly-graded battens – are BBA, CATG and
(Woodexperts’ own) Diamond Mark. Both the seller and the buyer may be confident that such battens fully conform to all the requirements of the Standard. “The responsibility for ensuring that only properly graded – and therefore safe – battens are being used, extends from the company directors (and shareholders!) right down through managers and supervisors, via agents, brokers and contractors, and even the port and warehouse operatives, to ensure that “fake” or counterfeit – and thus potentially unsafe – products do not reach the roof of anyone’s house,” continued Mr Coulson. “If they do, then there is an obvious risk to the end-user, plus a liability on the insurance company – and even perhaps the roofers themselves, who are nailing such sub-standard battens onto the roof. “At Woodexperts we are involved in all aspects of the supply and use of certified timber products, both in the UK and overseas. Our certification arm audits the producers to ensure quality at source; and our training arm provides extensive education in the rules and requirements of all relevant Standards (in this case, BS 5534: 2014, + A1: 2018): and yes, it is a bit of a mouthful; but on the batten itself, simply putting “BS 5534” is sufficient – provided, of course, there is also a certifier’s logo as well! “In addition, Woodexperts’ technical investigation arm has the task of carrying out site inspections, sometimes involving NHBC or even HSE; to discover what has gone wrong. This has the real potential to cause site shutdowns and /or insurance claims for buildings – and occasionally even injury and death. Remember, we are talking about roofs that may be proven to be faulty, due to inadequate battens having been installed. “A thorough working knowledge of this standard is provided by Woodexperts to our clients, in a half-day Training Workshop on an Appreciation of BS 5534 for Tiling Battens: and this is a good way to ensure that poor quality and counterfeit products do not end up in a timber yard or on a roof, at a site you may have supplied. This is surely a case where a little more knowledge is very much a good thing.” ■
Supporting the Confederation of Timber Industries’ (CTI) Skills & Education initiative
TTJ | November/December 2022 |
www.ttjonline.com
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